Physician{3 s examining table construction

ABSTRACT

A physician&#39;&#39;s examining table having an upholstered top and cabinet, wherein the top has head and foot sections at least one of which is pivotable with said one section supported in inclined and horizontal positions. Said one head section has a frame member supported by support means located only at one side of the table and for this purpose is reinforced. A torsion bar having one end secured to said one section and the other end secured to the cabinet counterbalances the weight of said one section. The other section has support means comprising a support link which pivots on the frame of the section and engages the cabinet to hold the foot section in inclined positions.

United States Patent Lelugas et a1.

PHYSICIANS EXAMINING TABLE CONSTRUCTION Joseph J. Lelugas, Two Rivers;Gene B. Lokken, Mishicot, both of Wis.

American Hospital Supply Corporation, Evanston, 111.

Aug. 29, 1969 Inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,314,778 3/1943 Froelich..269/324 2,751,606 6/1956 Benker ..5/68 X 2,972,207 4/1961 Hiers et a1108/2 Feb. 1, 1972 Primary Examiner--Andrew R. Juhasz AssistantExaminer-James F. Coan Attorney-Hibben, Noyes & Bicknell [5 7] ABSTRACTA physicians examining table having an upholstered top and cabinet,wherein the top has head and foot sections at least one of which ispivotable with said one section supported in inclined and horizontalpositions. Said one head section has a frame member supported by supportmeans located only at one side of the table and for this purpose isreinforced. A torsion bar having one end secured to said one section andthe other end secured to the cabinet counterbalances the weight of saidone section. The other section has support means comprising a supportlink which pivots on the frame of the section and engages the cabinet tohold the foot section in inclined positions.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED rza H912 3538.935

PATENIED FEB 11972 SHEET 3 BF 3 1 PIIYSICIANS EXAMINING TABLECONSTRUCTION DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to aphysicians examining table having a top comprising one or moreinclinable sections, and more particularly to improved support means andcounterbalance for the inclinable section of the top.

A physicians examining table of the type presently in use usuallycomprises a base member in the form of a cabinet member which rests onthe floor, and an upholstered top which is secured to the cabinet. Thetop is frequently provided in two sections, a head section and a footsection, at least one of which is pivotably secured at the adjacent endsof the sections to the cabinet member. For ease of examination, one orboth sections of the top may be pivoted to an inclined position.Supports are provided on the table to maintain the sections of the topin such inclined positions.

Frequently, as shown in the Demack U.S. Pat. No. 2,267,973 and theKanzelberger U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,493, the head section of the top hasbeen provided with one or two support rods. When two support rods areused, they are pivotally secured to the section and extend downwardly atboth sides of the section into the cabinet. When one support rod isused, it is pivotally secured to the section and extends downwardly atthe center of the section into the cabinet. The rods or rod engage alocking mechanism in the cabinet member to retain the rods or rod andhold the head section of the top in the inclined position. While suchsupports located either at both sides of the head section and in bothsides of the cabinet member, or at the center of the head section and inthe center of the cabinet member have operated satisfactorily, suchsupport means has the disadvantage of greatly reducing the spaceavailable in the cabinet member for storage of the physicians equipmentand supplies since the support means prevents use of much of the spacewithin the cabinet member for storage.

Frequently, as shown in the Katzfey U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,893, the footsection of the top may be held in an inclined position. For thispurpose, two blocks pivotally secured to each side of the top of thecabinet member have been provided. The foot section lies flat with theblocks in one position, and the foot section may be held in an inclinedposition by pivoting the blocks underneath the foot section into asecond position. While such block supports for the foot section haveoperated satisfactorily, they have the disadvantage of being able tosupport the foot section in only one inclined position.

Frequently, as shown in the Froelich U.S. Pat. No. 2,314,778 and theDemack Patent, thehead section of the top is counterbalanced to assistthe physician in moving the section. The counterbalancing force as shownin these patents has been provided by a spring, one end of which issecured to the cabinet and the other end of which engages the section ofthe top to be counterbalanced. As shown in the Froelich Patent, the endof the spring is secured to the cabinet by a special plate, and theother end of the spring rubs against a special rider plate secured tothe top. This construction has the disadvantages of having rubbingsurfaces which may wear and of requiring extra parts. As shown in theDemack Patent one end of the spring is secured to a rod extending fromthe center of the head section, and the other end is secured to thecenter of the cabinet bottom. This construction has the disadvantage ofhaving the counterbalance spring in the center of the cabinet, thusreducing useful storage space. The springs used in both the Demack andFroelich Patents have the further disadvantage of being coil-shaped andthus difficult to clean.

In accordance with the present invention, the aforementioneddisadvantages have been eliminated by providing a physician's examiningtable comprising a base member, in this instance a cabinet, with amaximum of storage space, and a top having a counterbalanced headsection and a foot section, and each section is capable of beingsupported in various inclined positions. The head and foot sections haveframe members which are pivotally secured to the cabinet, and anupholstered covering which is secured to the sections. Support means forone section of the top is positioned at one side of the table andcomprises a rod attached to a reinforcement of the frame member andextending downwardly into only one side of the cabinet into a lockingmechanism. This side support means utilizes only a small portion of thepotential storage space in the cabinet and does not interfere with usingthe other space in the cabinet for storage. Support means for the othersection of the top is at the top of the table and comprises a pivotallink which engages the cabinet member and frame member for said othersection. The link is mounted on one of said members and engages notchedportions in the other of said members. The support means for bothsections are readily adjustable by the physician from either side of thetable. The counterbalancing force for the head section has been providedby a compact, easily cleaned, torsion bar having one end attached to thehead section and the other end attached to the cabinet member.

FIG. I is an elevational view of the front side of a physician sexamining table embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the foot end of the table shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the table shown in FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is an enlargement of the view shown in FIG. 3, but with theupholstered portion of the top broken away to better show the underlyingparts;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the table shown in FIG. 4 with thetop in a horizontal position shown in solid lines and in an inclinedposition in dashed lines;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

A physicians examining table embodying the invention is shown in FIG. 1and comprises a base member, in this instance in the form of a cabinet11, and an upholstered top 12. The cabinet member 11 is supported on thefloor by height-adjustable legs 13. The front side of the cabinet asshown in FIG. 1 may contain three drawers 14 for storage of thephysicians equipment. Further drawers l6 may be provided in the foot endas shown in FIG. 2. A step stool l7, adjustable stirrups l8, and atreatment pan 21 may also be contained in the cabinet at the foot endfor the convenience of the physician in performing certain examinations.Thus, as shown in FIG. I and FIG. 2 nearly all of the space in thecabinet is usable storage space.

The upholstered top 12 is pivotally supported by the cabinet member 11and comprises a head section 22 and a foot section 23 which arepivotally secured to support brackets 24 and 26 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of thecabinet member 11. The top 12 has a headframe member 27 and a foot framemember 28 to which are secured the one-piece upholstered portion 31 ofthe top. The upholstered top 12 has mounted at its head end a paper roll32 and a paper holddown and cutoff strap 33 (FIG. 3) and at the foot endare fastened two wire paper holddown clips 34.

As is best shown in FIG. 4, and in FIG. 5 where the upholstered portionSI of the top 12 has been removed, the headframe member 27 is preferablymade from tubing and the parts thereof are welded together. Theheadframe member 27 is formed from an outer U-shaped tube 36 which isjoined at its open end to a crossbrace 37 of similar tubing. Near eachend of this crossbrace a hinge link 38 is secured at a slight angle tothe plane of frame member 27. Between the outward and hinged ends of theU-tube 36 is secured a reinforcing box 41 which reinforces the headframe27 so that it can be supported at only one side and is located ashereinafter described, instead of at both sides or its center. Thereinforcing box 41 has four sides 42, 43, 44 and 46, and each side issecured to its adjacent sides and to the tube 36 at both ends. Thisreinforcing box 41 prevents the head section 22 from becoming distortedunder the load imposed by a patient as he reclines on the section andthe section is in other than horizontal position.

The foot frame 28 follows the general outline of the upholstered top 12so as to form an open V-shaped area at its foot end to facilitatecertain types of examination. The foot frame member 28 is formed from anouter M-shaped tube 47 having side portions 48 and a center V-shapedportion 51. The open end of the M-shaped tube 47 has a straightcrossbrace 52. Hinge links 53 similar to hinge links 38 are secured tothe crossbrace 52. In each side portion 48 of the M-shaped tube 47 islocated one hole 54 into which a foot support link 55, hereinafterdescribed, is secured.

The support brackets 24 and 26 pivotally support the head and foot framemembers 27 and 28 on the cabinet and also assist in maintaining the footsection 28 in an inclined position. To this end, the two supportbrackets 24 and 26 are located on and are secured to the cabinet in aspaced-apart position near the front and back sides of the cabinet. Bothbrackets 24 and 26 are similar in shape, being generally channel-shapedat the head end and angle-shaped at the foot end, and have a lowerflange 56 for securing the brackets to the cabinet by means such asscrews. At about the midpoint of each bracket is a vertically extendedportion 57 having a hole 58 to receive a pin 61 for pivotally mountingthe head and foot frame members 27 and 28 to the support brackets of thecabinet member 11. The two hinge links 38 of the headframe member 27 fitinside of the two extended portions 57 of the support brackets 24 and 26and the two hinge links 53 for the foot frame member 28 are locatedoutside the hinge links 38 and fit outside of the extended portions. Ahole 62 is provided in each hinge link 38 and 53 so that the headframehinge links 38, support brackets 24 and 26 and foot frame hinge links 53may be secured pivotably together by the pins 61 which have snaprings 63on the respective ends thereof to hold the parts assembled. The brackets24 and 26 have at their head ends upper flanges 64 on which thereinforcing box 41 of frame 27 of section 22 rests to support the headsection when it is in a horizontal position and at their foot ends araised portion 66 on which a link 55, hereinafter described, rests tosupport the foot section when it is in a horizontal position.

The foot frame and head sections may be independently supported invarious inclined positions. In the present instance, two different meansare used to support the sections in an inclined position, but eithersection could be supported by either means shown, or the support meansfor both sections could be the same.

The foot section 23 may lie flat on the cabinet member or be held inseveral inclined positions. Support means for the foot section 23comprises a support link 55. In this instance, link 55 is pivotallysecured to the frame member 28 and engages notches in the supportbrackets 24 and 26. The support link 55 comprises a rod having astraight portion 71 which engages the holes 54 in the frame member 28 soas to be pivotally secured to the frame. Two L-shaped portions 72 aresecured to and extend radially outward from the straight portion 71 nearthe ends thereof. The straight portion 71 is held in position relativeto the frame 28 by snaprings 73 located adjacent the ends ofthe straightportion 71.

The free end, indicated at 74, of each L-shaped portion 72 extends intoa slot 76 provided in each support bracket 24 and 26. The slots 76 inthe brackets are elongated generally horizontally and have notches 77 inseveral locatiohs in their lower margin 78. Knobs 82 may be secured tothe free ends 74. The length of the slot 76 is such that when the footsection is horizontal the free ends 74 of the L-shaped portions 72 areadjacent the left ends of the slots as shown in FIG. 5. When the footsection 23 is inclined, the free ends 74 will slide in the slots 76until they engage a pair of notches 77, one in each support bracket 24and 26, into which the ends 74 of the link 55 drop so as to support thefoot section 23 in an inclined position. A plurality of paired notches77 are provided so that the section 23 may be held in several positionsas well as a horizontal position. This feature greatly assists thephysician in performing various examinations which may be facilitated byhaving the patient inclined at different angles.

The foot section 23 is retained in an inclined position since the angleat which the support link 55 is inclined in relation to the slots 76 issuch that the notches 77 retain the link in place. The angle ofinclination of the foot section 23 may be easily changed by raising thefree ends 74 so that they disengage from one pair of notches 77 and maybe slid to another position. Since the L-shaped portions 72 are joinedto the straight portion 71 which extend to either side of the table, thephysician may easily adjust the angle of inclination from either side ofthe table without having to move around to the other side as had to bedone with tables shown in the prior art. The notches 77 adjacent theright ends of the slots 76, as shown in FIG. 5, are such that the footsection may be inclined to approximately 15", in this instance.

The head section 22 is capable of being held in any position fromcompletely horizontal to generally vertical. The frame member 27 is ofsufficient strength to be supported at one side without sagging at theopposite unsupported side. The support means for the head section 22comprises a support rod 84 secured to the head section 22 at one side,in this instance the back side, and rod-holding means 86 secured to thecabinet 11 at the same side. The frame member 27 is reinforced by thereinforcing box 41, as heretofore described. One end of the support rod84 is pivoted on a pin 87 in a bracket 88 secured to the underside 44 ofthe reinforcing box 41. The reinforcing box 41 is located on the frame27 so that the support rod 84 which is mounted on the reinforcing boxcan be placed as far from the hinge pins 61 as possible to reduce theload thereon needed to support the head section 22 but yet will becontained within the cabinet and not strike the head end wall of thecabinet in its movement when the head section is pivoted between itshorizontal and vertical positions. Also the support rod 84 does notextend below the cabinet member 11 when the section 22 is in thehorizontal position. The other end of the rod 84 extends downwardthrough a slot 89 in the top of the cabinet 11 into the back side of thecabinet.

Within the cabinet 11 is the rod-holding means 86 comprising a trip rod91 which is pivotally secured to the cabinet in the upper part thereofand extends out through openings 92 in the front and back sides of thecabinet. Handles 93 are secured to the ends of the trip rod 91 formanual operation by the physician from either side of the cabinet. Thesupport rod 84 passes downwardly through the slot 89 formed in the topwall of the cabinet 11, through a hole 97 formed in a slid plate 98, andthrough an opening 94 in a tab 96 secured to the trip rod 91. The slot89 is elongated in the longitudinal direction, as shown in Fig. 4, toprovide clearance for the rod 84 as it swings between the broken-lineand full-line positions shown in FIG. 5. The hole 97 in the plate 98 isonly slightly larger than the rod 84, and the plate 98 slides in thelongitudinal direction with swinging movement of the rod 84. The plate98 serves both as a cover for the slot 89 to prevent dirt from enteringthe interior of the cabinet, and as a support for a compression spring99 which is coiled around the rod 84 between the plate 98 and the tab96. The weight of the tab 96 and the spring 99 tend to rotate the triprod 91 and the tab 96 in the clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 5 andcause the sharp margins of the opening 94 to frictionally engage thesupport rod 84. The frictional engagement may be relieved by movement ofthe handles 93 in the counterclockwise direction so that the rod 84slides freely in the opening 94 to permit lowering of the head endsection. Releasing the handles 93 results in the spring 99 pivoting thetab 96 downwardly and causing the rod 84 to be held. However, thehandles 93 do not have to be turned to permit raising of the head endsection because the rod 84 may freely slide upwardly in the opening 94.

To assist the physician in moving at least the head section of the topto an inclined position, a counterbalance is provided. In this instanceit is preferable to use a torsion bar 101 to provide thecounterbalancing force. The counterbalance torsion bar 101 is elongatedand extends from the front side to the back side of the cabinet, withits ends 102 and 103 bent at right angles to its intermediate portion.When the torsion bar 101 is free, one end 102 is bent generallyhorizontally while the other end 103 is bent generally vertically. Thesize of the bar is chosen so that the counterbalance force generated bythe bar with the head section in a horizontal position is less than theforce necessary to pivot the section to an inclined position. The bar101 has one end 102 secured to the support bracket 24 and the other end103 is secured to the frame member 27. In this instance the bar 101 issecured at its respective ends by inserting the respective bent ends 102and 103 of the bar in short tubes 104 secured to the frame member andsupport bracket. The tube 104 for the support bracket 24 of the backside is located on the inside of the extended portion 57 just below thepivot pin 61. The tube 104 on the frame member 27 is secured to theinside of the hinge link 38 at the front side. The bar 101 may be easilyinserted in the tubes 104 by raising the head section 22 to a generallyvertical position, and then the bar is installed with its vertical bentend 102 fitting in the tube 104 on the frame member 27, and itshorizontal bent end 101 fitting in the tube 104 on the support bracket24. The counterbalance force is generated as the section 22 is displacedfrom such vertical position, the counterbalancing force being greatestwhen the section is in a generally horizontal position. The torsion bar101 provides a compact and simple to clean means of counterbalancing thepivotable section 22 of the examining table.

It is apparent from the foregoing that a novel and useful physiciansexamining table having a base member and a top with pivotable head andfoot sections has been provided. Support means for one section which hasa frame member reinforced to be supported at one side in an inclinedposition comprises cooperating parts located at only one side of thetable. Support means for the other section which has a frame membercomprises a support link which engages notches in a portion of the basemember, said support link being pivotably secured to one of said frameand base members and engaging said notches. It is also apparent that anovel counterbalance for a pivotable section of an examining table hasbeen provided which comprises a torsion bar having one end secured tothe section and the other end secured to the cabinet.

We claim:

1. A physician's examining table comprising a base, a top, said tophaving at least one pivotable section including a frame member havingside portions, said side portions being connected centrally thereof byreinforcing means, and means for supporting said section in an inclinedposition, said support means being located directly below and entirelybeneath said top and at only one side of said table, and engaging saidbase and being pivotally connected to said reinforcing means, saidreinforcing means preventing distortion of the section with the sectionsupported at only said one side.

2. A physicians examining table comprising a base, a top, said tophaving at least one pivotable section, and means for supporting saidsection in an inclined position, said support means being locateddirectly below and entirely beneath said top and at only one side ofsaid table, said section including a frame member having side portionsand reinforcing means to prevent distortion of said section, saidsupport means engaging said base and being connected to said reinforcingmeans, said frame member having an outward end and a hinged end, saidreinforcing means being in the form of a box located between said endsof said frame member and being secured to said side portions of saidframe member.

3. A physicians examining table as in claim 1, wherein said supportmeans comprises a support rod pivotably secured to said reinforcingmeans inside said side portions of said frame member, and rod-lockingmeans located within said base and directly below said top.

4. In a physicians examining table including a top, having at least onepivotable section and a base member, the improvement comprising acounterbalance for said section comprising a torsion bar, said torsionbar having means for securing one end of said bar to said section andthe other end of said bar to the base member.

5. A physician's examining table as in claim 4, wherein the torsion barcomprises a straight portion, and two bent p ortrons, wherein said meansfor securing the ends of the torsion bar comprises a pair of shorttubes, one being secured to the base member and the other secured to thesection.

6. A physician s examining table comprising a base member and a top,said top having at least one section member pivotably secured to thebase member, a support rod pivotally secured to one side of saidsection, rod-locking means located in said base member, said rodextending down into said one side of said base member into said lockingmeans, a torsion bar counterbalance for said section, said torsion barhaving one end secured to said base member and the other end secured tosaid section on the side opposite the said one side.

7. A physicians examining table as in claim 1, wherein said base is inthe form of a cabinet and said support means extends downward into onlyone side of said cabinet, whereby the major portion of said cabinet isuseable for storage.

8. A physicians examining table as in claim 1, further comprisingcounterbalance means connected to the side of said section opposite tothe side to which said support means is connected, whereby saidcounterbalance means and said support means prevent said section fromdistorting.

1. A physician''s examining table comprising a base, a top, said tophaving at least one pivotable section including a frame member havingside portions, said side portions being connected centrally thereof byreinforcing means, and means for supporting said section in an inclinedposition, said support means being located directly below and entirelybeneath said top and at only one side of said table, and engaging saidbase and being pivotally connected to said reinforcing means, saidreinforcing means preventing distortion of the section with the sectionsupported at only said one side.
 2. A physician''s examining tablecomprising a base, a top, said top having at least one pivotablesection, and means for supporting said section in an inclined position,said support means being located directly below and entirely beneathsaid top and at only one side of said table, said section including aframe member having side portions and reinforcing means to preventdistortion of said section, said support means engaging said base andbeing connected to said reinforcing means, said frame member having anoutward end and a hinged end, said reinforcing means being in the formof a box located between said ends of said frame member and beingsecured to said side portions of said frame member.
 3. A physician''sexamining table as in claim 1, wherein said support means comprises asupport rod pivotably secured to said reinforcing means inside said sideportions of said frame member, and rod-locking means located within saidbase and directly below said top.
 4. In a physician''s examining tableincluding a top, having at least one pivotable section and a basemember, the improvement comprising a counterbalance for said sectioncomprising a torsion bar, said torsion bar having means for securing oneend of said bar to said section and the other end of said bar to thebase member.
 5. A physician''s examining table as in claim 4, whereinthe torsion bar comprises a straight portion, and two bent portions,wherein said means for securing the ends of the torsion bar comprises apair of short tubes, one being secured to the base member and the othersecured to the section.
 6. A physician''s examining table comprising abase member and a top, said top having at least one section memberpivotably secured to the base member, a support rod pivotally secured toone side of said section, rod-locking means located in said base member,said rod extending down into said one side of said base member into saidlocking means, a torsion bar counterbalance for said section, saidtorsion bar having one end secured to said base member and the other endsecured to said section on the side opposite the said one side.
 7. Aphysician''s examining table as in claim 1, wherein said base is in theform of a cabinet and said support means extends downward into only oneside of said cabinet, whereby the major portion of said cabinet isuseable for storage.
 8. A physician''s examining table as in claim 1,further comprising counterbalance means connected to the side of saidsection opposite to the side to which said support means is connected,whereBy said counterbalance means and said support means prevent saidsection from distorting.